Chancellor says Spending Review will help people 'all over our country'
The Chancellor will vow that the Government’s Spending Review will mean “working people all over our country are better off”.
In today’s statement, which sets departmental budgets for the next three years, Rachel Reeves will announce reforms, which she will say will “guarantee” towns and cities outside London will benefit from new investment.
While Sir Keir Starmer said the Spending Review is about “huge investment for the future of our country”.
The Chancellor is expected to announce funding increases for the NHS, schools and defence along with a number of infrastructure projects, as she shares out some £113bn freed up by looser borrowing rules.
This includes £2.1bn going to West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin, to help fund the region’s new mass transit system, and £1.5bn to South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard to help improve the tram and bus networks.
But other areas could face cuts as Ms Reeves seeks to balance manifesto commitments with more recent pledges, such as a hike in defence spending, while meeting her fiscal rules that promise to match day-to-day spending with revenues.
The Chancellor will also formally announce the Government’s partial U-turn on the winter fuel payment cuts, which will see around nine million pensioners receive payments this year of up to £300.
She will say: “The choices in this Spending Review are possible only because of the stability I have introduced and the choices I took in the Autumn.”
Ms Reeves will point to the transport investment, with around £10bn going to the North, to say that this will help areas outside London and the South East gain investment.
She will also refer to the Government’s commitment to Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk to say “this Government is renewing Britain”.
“But I know too many people in too many parts of the country are yet to feel it,” she is expected to say.
“This Government’s task – my task – and the purpose of this Spending Review – is to change that - to ensure that renewal is felt in people’s everyday lives, their jobs, their communities.
“So that people can see a doctor when they need one, know that they are secure at work and feel safe on their local high street.
“The priorities in this Spending Review are the priorities of working people.
“To invest in our country’s security, health and economy so working people all over our country are better off.”
However, less than 24 hours before Ms Reeves’ statement, reports surfaced suggesting that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is unhappy with the financial settlement going towards police forces.
Ms Cooper was the last Cabinet minister to agree her budget with Ms Reeves, just a day ahead of the Spending Review announcement.
The Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police John Robins was one of a number of senior officers across the country to call for “serious investment” in policing.
Yesterday, Sir Keir pushed back on suggestions that the Spending Review settlement would impact the frontline, saying: “No, we will be more safe.
“There’s money going into policing, into security, and that is really important, particularly coming from my background.
“I was chief prosecutor for five years, prosecuting cases across England and Wales. So this is a core belief of mine.”